Valefor, also spelled Valefar, is the sixth Goetic spirit. The Ars Goetia ranks him as a duke with ten legions and describes a lion with an ass's head. His entry gives him the role of a familiar while warning that he encourages those associated with him to steal.[1][2]
A troublesome familiar#
The familiar is a recurring figure in historical accounts of magic: a spirit associated with an individual rather than encountered only for a single question. Valefor's entry makes that relationship morally ambiguous. Helpfulness and temptation occur together in the catalogue's own characterization.
That ambiguity differs from Orobas's stated fidelity to the operator. Reading the entries together shows how the Goetia distinguishes spirits by disposition as well as office. Its catalogue contains warnings about deception and misconduct alongside promises of knowledge or service.[2]
Form and seal#
The lion's body and ass's head are the specified parts of Valefor's appearance. More elaborate illustrations may supply additional features, but those should be attributed to their artists or later sources. The seal is separately displayed as the sign connected with this entry.[1]
The historical description does not justify treating theft as a religious duty. A modern devotional interpretation that changes Valefor's role belongs to its own tradition and needs its own evidence. The early modern text is useful precisely because it records the troubling office rather than smoothing it into an uncomplicated patronage of success.
See also#
References
- Lemegeton, Goetia: Valefor, Sloane 3825 transcription · Joseph H. Peterson edition of the historical grimoire, with manuscript readings. (accessed 2026-10-01) ↩
- S. L. MacGregor Mathers and Aleister Crowley, The Goetia (1904), spirit 6 · Public-domain edition. Offices and appearances are statements in this catalogue. (accessed 2026-10-01) ↩